5G New Radio Beam Refinement Procedure

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform methods to implement mechanisms for a UE to request a beam quality measurement procedure. A user equipment device may be configured to perform a method including performing transmitting a request to perform a beam quality measurement procedure for downlink receptions (e.g., a P3 procedure) to a base station/network entity, receiving instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure from the base station, and transmitting results of the beam quality measurement procedure to the base station. In some embodiments, transmission of the request may be response to at least one trigger condition and/or detection of a condition at the UE. The request may include an indication of a preferred timing offset. The instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure may include a schedule for the beam quality measurement.

PRIORITY DATA

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/790,536, titled “5G New Radio Beam RefinementProcedure”, filed Jan. 10, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

FIELD

The present application relates to wireless devices, and moreparticularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for a wireless device toinitiate beam management procedures for next generation radio accesstechnologies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email,text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system(GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications thatutilize these functionalities. Thus, improvements in the field aredesired.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods to perform beammanagement procedures of a wireless device and a next generation networknode (e.g., a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network node alsocalled a gNB).

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device may be configured toperform a method including performing transmitting a request to performa beam quality measurement procedure for downlink receptions (e.g., a P3procedure) to a base station/network entity, receiving instructions toperform the beam quality measurement procedure from the base station,and transmitting results of the beam quality measurement procedure tothe base station. In some embodiments, transmission of the request maybe response to at least one trigger condition and/or detection of acondition at the UE. In some embodiments, the request may be transmittedvia one of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or amedium access control (MAC) control element (CE) and may be indicatedvia a bit included in one of the PUCCH transmission or MAC CE. In someembodiments, the request may include an indication of a preferred timingoffset. In some embodiments, the instructions to perform the beamquality measurement procedure may include a schedule for the beamquality measurement. In some embodiments, the request may include anindication that the UE supports concurrent reception of multiple beams.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of various embodiments isconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example wireless communication system accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a base station (BS) and an accesspoint in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a WLAN AccessPoint (AP), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a BS according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communicationcircuitry, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of connections between an EPC network, anLTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB).

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a protocol stack for an eNB and a gNB.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g.,non-cellular) access to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE/eLTE and 5G NR) access andnon-3GPP access to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of operation of a beam managementframework.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of a P2 beam management procedure.

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of a P3 beam management procedure.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an example of effects of motion of a UE onbeam selection.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of a signal quality metric triggering aP3 procedure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example of a prohibit timer dis-allowingtriggering of a P3 procedure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for a UEto request a beam quality measurement procedure, according to someembodiments.

While the features described herein may be susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particularform disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices orstorage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include aninstallation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; acomputer system memory or random-access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM,SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash,magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, orother similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium mayinclude other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinationsthereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a firstcomputer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located ina second different computer system which connects to the first computersystem over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, thesecond computer system may provide program instructions to the firstcomputer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or morememory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., indifferent computer systems that are connected over a network. The memorymedium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computerprograms) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™ PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of itsordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication stationinstalled at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of awireless telephone system or radio system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such asa user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements mayinclude, for example: processors and associated memory, portions orcircuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores,processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations ofthe above.

Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter)to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term“channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term“channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a mannerthat is consistent with the standard of the type of device withreference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widthsmay be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions,etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide whileBluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards mayinclude different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standardsmay define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channelsfor uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses suchas data, control information, etc.

Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, andat least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum)in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus,the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. Forexample, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however,that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be applicationdependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may meanwithin 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various otherembodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and soforth, as desired or as required by the particular application.

Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks,processes, or programs are performed in an at least partiallyoverlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using“strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at leastpartially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using“weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleavedmanner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads.

Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task ortasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generallymeaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks duringoperation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the taskeven when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., aset of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect amodule to another module, even when the two modules are not connected).In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structuregenerally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasksduring operation. As such, the component can be configured to performthe task even when the component is not currently on. In general, thecircuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” mayinclude hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, forconvenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpretedas including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that isconfigured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component.

FIGS. 1A and 1B—Communication Systems

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 ismerely one example of a possible system, and that features of thisdisclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a basestation 102A which communicates over a transmission medium with one ormore user devices 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N. Each of the userdevices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, theuser devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) orcell site (a “cellular base station”) and may include hardware thatenables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106N.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may bereferred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may beconfigured to communicate over the transmission medium using any ofvarious radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wirelesscommunication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM,UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), eLTE, 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3 GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the basestation 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately bereferred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station 102Ais implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referredto as ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’.

As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate witha network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, atelecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network(PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, thebase station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devicesand/or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, thecellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with varioustelecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . . 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellularcommunication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, whichmay provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or morecellular communication standards.

Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-Nas illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also be capable of receivingsignals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or moreother cells (which might be provided by base stations 102B-N and/or anyother base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells”.Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication betweenuser devices and/or between user devices and the network 100. Such cellsmay include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cellswhich provide any of various other granularities of service area size.For example, base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 might be macrocells, while base station 102N might be a micro cell. Otherconfigurations are also possible.

In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In someembodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core(EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cellmay include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Inaddition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connectedto one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiplewireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may beconfigured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi)and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth,Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellularcommunication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example,WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, eLTE, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE 106 may alsoor alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more globalnavigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or moremobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H),and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Othercombinations of wireless communication standards (including more thantwo wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 1B illustrates user equipment 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106Athrough 106N) in communication with a base station 102 and an accesspoint 112, according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a devicewith both cellular communication capability and non-cellularcommunication capability (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so forth) such asa mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtuallyany type of wireless device.

The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute programinstructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methodembodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmablehardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that isconfigured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, orany portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In someembodiments, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, forexample, CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD), LTE/LTE-Advanced, eLTE, or5G NR using a single shared radio and/or GSM, LTE, LTE-Advanced, eLTE or5G NR using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to asingle antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) forperforming wireless communications. In general, a radio may include anycombination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processingcircuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers,etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation aswell as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implementone or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementionedhardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of areceive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communicationtechnologies, such as those discussed above.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and/orreceive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radiocomponents) for each wireless communication protocol with which it isconfigured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE 106 mayinclude one or more radios which are shared between multiple wirelesscommunication protocols, and one or more radios which are usedexclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example,the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using eitherof LTE/eLTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1×RTTor LTE or GSM), and separate radiosfor communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Otherconfigurations are also possible.

FIG. 2—Access Point Block Diagram

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an access point (AP)112. It is noted that the block diagram of the AP of FIG. 2 is only oneexample of a possible system. As shown, the AP 112 may includeprocessor(s) 204 which may execute program instructions for the AP 112.The processor(s) 204 may also be coupled (directly or indirectly) tomemory management unit (MMU) 240, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 204 and to translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read only memory (ROM) 250) orto other circuits or devices.

The AP 112 may include at least one network port 270. The network port270 may be configured to couple to a wired network and provide aplurality of devices, such as UEs 106, access to the Internet. Forexample, the network port 270 (or an additional network port) may beconfigured to couple to a local network, such as a home network or anenterprise network. For example, port 270 may be an Ethernet port. Thelocal network may provide connectivity to additional networks, such asthe Internet.

The AP 112 may include at least one antenna 234, which may be configuredto operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE 106 via wireless communication circuitry 230. Theantenna 234 communicates with the wireless communication circuitry 230via communication chain 232. Communication chain 232 may include one ormore receive chains, one or more transmit chains or both. The wirelesscommunication circuitry 230 may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fior WLAN, e.g., 802.11. The wireless communication circuitry 230 mayalso, or alternatively, be configured to communicate via various otherwireless communication technologies, including, but not limited to, 5GNR, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), eLTE, Global Systemfor Mobile (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA),CDMA2000, etc., for example when the AP is co-located with a basestation in case of a small cell, or in other instances when it may bedesirable for the AP 112 to communicate via various different wirelesscommunication technologies. In some embodiments, as further describedherein, the AP 112 may include hardware and software components forimplementing or supporting implementation of features described herein.

FIG. 3—Block Diagram of a UE

FIG. 3 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of acommunication device 106, according to some embodiments. It is notedthat the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is only oneexample of a possible communication device. According to embodiments,communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobiledevice or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, adesktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., alaptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or acombination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communicationdevice 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to performcore functions. For example, this set of components may be implementedas a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for variouspurposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implementedas separate components or groups of components for the various purposes.The set of components 300 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communicationdevice 106.

For example, the communication device 106 may include various types ofmemory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), an input/output interface suchas connector I/F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock;charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard;output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display 360, which may beintegrated with or external to the communication device 106, andcellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, eLTE, LTE, GSM,etc., and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329(e.g., Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments,communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (notshown), such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may also couple (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337and 338 as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directlyor indirectly) to the antennas 335 and 336 in addition to, or insteadof, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to theantennas 337 and 338. The short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may includemultiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receivingand/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in amultiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/orcoupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. dedicatedprocessors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chainfor LTE/eLTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in someembodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a singletransmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specificRATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g.,LTE/eLTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain anda transmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radiothat may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be incommunication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmitchain.

The communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured foruse with one or more user interface elements. The user interfaceelements may include any of various elements, such as display 360 (whichmay be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discretekeyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), amouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or morebuttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providinginformation to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input.

The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such asone or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 345.

As shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302, which may executeprogram instructions for the communication device 106 and displaycircuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide displaysignals to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled tomemory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NANDflash memory 310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as thedisplay circuitry 304, short range wireless communication circuitry 229,cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I/F 320, and/or display360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and pagetable translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may beincluded as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured tocommunicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. Thecommunication device 106 may be configured to perform methods to improvedual-registration in a 5G NR network, including notification procedureenhancements, dual-registration enhancements, and paging enhancements asfurther described herein.

As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardwareand software components for implementing the above features for acommunication device 106. The processor 302 of the communication device106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as aprogrammable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 302 of the communicationdevice 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 300,304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 302.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 andshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may each include one ormore processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330 and,similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in shortrange wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that areconfigured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g.,first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform thefunctions of cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, theshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or moreICs that are configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 32. In addition, each integrated circuit mayinclude circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.)configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329.

FIG. 4—Block Diagram of a Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of FIG.4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the basestation 102 may include processor(s) 404 which may execute programinstructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also becoupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured toreceive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate thoseaddresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory(ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also oralternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., acore network of a cellular service provider. The core network mayprovide mobility related services and/or other services to a pluralityof devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the corenetwork may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devicesserviced by the cellular service provider).

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In suchembodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolvedpacket core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. Inaddition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and mayinclude one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition,a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one ormore TRPs within one or more gNBs.

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured tooperate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432.Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain orboth. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via variouswireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR,eLTE, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly usingmultiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the basestation 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the basestation 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communicationtechnologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 mayinclude an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE aswell as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR.In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as bothan LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility,the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio which is capable ofperforming communications according to any of multiple wirelesscommunication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTEand UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may includehardware and software components for implementing or supportingimplementation of features described herein. The processor 404 of thebase station 102 may be configured to implement or supportimplementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, theprocessor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, suchas an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively(or in addition) the processor 404 of the BS 102, in conjunction withone or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or allof the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor(s) 404 may be comprised ofone or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in processor(s) 404. Thus, processor(s) 404 mayinclude one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 404. In addition, each integratedcircuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry,etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 404.

Further, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or moreprocessing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements maybe included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry(e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to performthe functions of radio 430.

FIG. 5: Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellularcommunication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted thatthe block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5 isonly one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. Accordingto embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be include in acommunication device, such as communication device 106 described above.As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE)device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wirelessstation, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computingdevice (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), atablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3). In some embodiments,cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receivechains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly orindirectly. dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g.,a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured forcommunications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as eLTE, LTE orLTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communications according to asecond RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be incommunication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals.For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 andtransmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which mayinclude circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335 a.

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may be incommunication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may includecircuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RFfront end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may be in communicationwith DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radiosignals via antenna 335 b.

In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 touplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmitcircuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may includecircuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 510), switch570 may be switched to a first state that allows modem 510 to transmitsignals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572). Similarly, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 520), switch570 may be switched to a second state that allows modem 520 to transmitsignals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 544 and UL front end 572).

In some embodiments, as described herein, the cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include hardware and software components forimplementing or supporting implementation of features described herein.

As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features or for time divisionmultiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations, as well as the various othertechniques described herein. The processors 512 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 512, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 512 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 512.

In some embodiments, as described herein, the modem 520 may includehardware and software components for implementing or supportingimplementation of features described herein. Additionally, theprocessors 522 may be configured to implement part or all of thefeatures described herein, e.g., by executing program instructionsstored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readablememory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor 522 may beconfigured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (FieldProgrammable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific IntegratedCircuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 522, inconjunction with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550,570, 572, 335 and 336 may be configured to implement part or all of thefeatures described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 522 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 522 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 522.

5G NR Architecture with LTE

In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communicationwill initially be deployed concurrently with current wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivitybetween LTE and 5G new radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part ofthe initial deployment of NR. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-B,evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate withcurrent LTE base stations (e.g., eNB 602) and/or an evolution of an LTEbase station (e.g., an eLTE eNB 602). In addition, eNB 602 may be incommunication with a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604) and may passdata between the EPC network 600 and gNB 604. Thus, EPC network 600 maybe used (or reused) and gNB 604 may serve as extra capacity for UEs,e.g., for providing increased downlink throughput to UEs. In otherwords, LTE/eLTE may be used for control plane signaling and NR may beused for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE/eLTE may be used to establishconnections to the network and NR may be used for data services.

FIG. 6B illustrates a proposed protocol stack for eNB 602 and gNB 604.As shown, eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632that interfaces with radio link control (RLC) layers 622 a-b. RLC layer622 a may also interface with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer 612 a and RLC layer 622 b may interface with PDCP layer 612 b.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 612 a may interface via a master cell group (MCG) bearer toEPC network 600 whereas PDCP layer 612 b may interface via a splitbearer with EPC network 600.

Additionally, as shown, gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 thatinterfaces with RLC layers 624 a-b. RLC layer 624 a may interface withPDCP layer 612 b of eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchangeand/or coordination (e.g., scheduling of a UE) between eNB 602 and gNB604. In addition, RLC layer 624 b may interface with PDCP layer 614.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 614 may interface with EPC network 600 via a secondary cellgroup (SCG) bearer. Thus, eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB)while gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In somescenarios, a UE may be required to maintain a connection to both an MeNBand a SgNB. In such scenarios, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radioresource control (RRC) connection to an EPC while the SgNB may be usedfor capacity (e.g., additional downlink and/or uplink throughput).

5G Core Network Architecture—Interworking with Wi-Fi

In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) may be accessed via (orthrough) a cellular connection/interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communicationarchitecture/protocol) and a non-cellular connection/interface (e.g., anon-3GPP access architecture/protocol such as Wi-Fi connection). FIG. 7Aillustrates an example of a 5G network architecture that incorporatesboth 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access tothe 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a user equipmentdevice (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN through both a radioaccess network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604) and anaccess point, such as AP 112. The AP 112 may include a connection to theInternet 700 as well as a connection to a non-3GPP inter-workingfunction (N3IWF) 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connectionto a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 704 of the 5GCN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5GMM) function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.As shown, the AMF 704 may include one or more functional entitiesassociated with the 5G CN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF)720, short message service function (SMSF) 722, application function(AF) 724, unified data management (UDM) 726, policy control function(PCF) 728, and/or authentication server function (AUSF) 730). Note thatthese functional entities may also be supported by a session managementfunction (SMF) 706 a and an SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may beconnected to (or in communication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB604 may in communication with (or connected to) a user plane function(UPF) 708 a that may also be communication with the SMF 706 a.Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may be communicating with a UPF 708 b that mayalso be communicating with the SMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicatingwith the data network (e.g., DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700and IMS core network 710.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPPaccess to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a userequipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN throughboth a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604or eNB or base station 602) and an access point, such as AP 112. The AP112 may include a connection to the Internet 700 as well as a connectionto the N3IWF 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connection tothe AMF 704 of the 5G CN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of the 5GMM function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.In addition, the 5G CN may support dual-registration of the UE on both alegacy network (e.g., LTE via base station 602) and a 5G network (e.g.,via base station 604). As shown, the base station 602 may haveconnections to a mobility management entity (MME) 742 and a servinggateway (SGW) 744. The MME 742 may have connections to both the SGW 744and the AMF 704. In addition, the SGW 744 may have connections to boththe SMF 706 a and the UPF 708 a. As shown, the AMF 704 may include oneor more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 720,SMSF 722, AF 724, UDM 726, PCF 728, and/or AUSF 730). Note that UDM 726may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function and the PCF mayalso include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). Note furtherthat these functional entities may also be supported by the SMF706 a andthe SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may be connected to (or incommunication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB 604 may incommunication with (or connected to) the UPF 708 a that may also becommunication with the SMF 706 a. Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may becommunicating with a UPF 708 b that may also be communicating with theSMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicating with the data network (e.g.,DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700 and IMS core network 710.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describednetwork entities may include hardware and software components forimplementing or supporting implementation of features described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE (e.g., such as UE 106), according to some embodiments. The basebandprocessor architecture 800 described in FIG. 8 may be implemented on oneor more radios (e.g., radios 329 and/or 330 described above) or modems(e.g., modems 510 and/or 520) as described above. As shown, thenon-access stratum (NAS) 810 may include a 5G NAS 820 and a legacy NAS850. The legacy NAS 850 may include a communication connection with alegacy access stratum (AS) 870. The 5G NAS 820 may include communicationconnections with both a 5G AS 840 and a non-3GPP AS 830 and Wi-Fi AS832. The 5G NAS 820 may include functional entities associated with bothaccess stratums. Thus, the 5G NAS 820 may include multiple 5G MMentities 826 and 828 and 5G session management (SM) entities 822 and824. The legacy NAS 850 may include functional entities such as shortmessage service (SMS) entity 852, evolved packet system (EPS) sessionmanagement (ESM) entity 854, session management (SM) entity 856, EPSmobility management (EMM) entity 858, and mobility management (MM)/ GPRSmobility management (GMM) entity 860. In addition, the legacy AS 870 mayinclude functional entities such as LTE AS 872, UMTS AS 874, and/orGSM/GPRS AS 876.

Thus, the baseband processor architecture 800 allows for a common 5G-NASfor both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note thatas shown, the 5G MM may maintain individual connection management andregistration management state machines for each connection.Additionally, a device (e.g., UE 106) may register to a single PLMN(e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access.Further, it may be possible for the device to be in a connected state inone access and an idle state in another access and vice versa. Finally,there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration,de-registration, identification, authentication, as so forth) for bothaccesses.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describedfunctional entities of the 5G NAS and/or 5G AS may include hardware andsoftware components for implementing or supporting implementation offeatures described herein.

Beam Management

In current implementations of the 5G New Radio (5G NR), the beammanagement framework includes a new radio base station (e.g., a “gNB”)transmitting periodic beam management channel state information (CSI) toa user equipment device (“UE”) and the UE measuring and reportingreference signal received power (RSRP) of selected beams.

The gNB may monitor any beam degradation and trigger various beammanagement procedures, e.g., reselection of a beam at the gNB and/orreselection of a beam at the UE.

For example, FIG. 9 illustrates an example of operation of a beammanagement framework. As shown, a gNB 902 may periodically or routinelytransmit beam management channel state information (CSI) to a userequipment device, such as UE 906. Beam management CSI may includereference signals (RS) such as periodic CSI-RS (P-CSI-RS),semi-persistent C SI-RS (SP-CSI-RS), and/or synchronization signalblocks (SSBs), among other types of reference symbols. The UE 902 maymonitor/measure the RSRP of the beam(s) and may report the RSRP to thegNB 906. The gNB 906 may monitor beam degradation, e.g., based on thereported RSRP and based on detecting beam degradation, the gNB 906 maytrigger beam management procedures, including aperiodic beam managementprocedures (such as P2/P3, discussed below). In some instances, the beammanagement procedures may be triggered if beam management CSI is notsufficient to avoid degradation (e.g., beyond a threshold). Suchaperiodic beam management procedures may be UE-specific, e.g., in orderto avoid the potentially extensive resource cost of doing so for UEsgenerally. As illustrated by FIG. 9, during an exemplary beam managementprocedure, the gNB 906 may transmit a series of beams (e.g., Tx beam) ina sweep (or a series of sweeps), such as TX beam sweep periods 910 a-d,and may transmit RRC configuration information 930 relevant to beammanagement. The UE 902 may detect one or more of the beams, may measurethe strength (e.g., RSRP) or other characteristics of the beam(s), andmay provide one or more reports 935 a-b to the gNB 902 based on thedetection(s) and/or measurement(s).

As a further example, FIGS. 10A-B illustrate respective beam managementprocedures, known as P2 and P3. Turning to FIG. 10A, a beam managementprocedure known as P2 includes a gNB, such as gNB 902, transmitting aseries (e.g., a sweep) of beams 1003, e.g., narrow beams at differentangles using a set of CSI resources 1014 a-d (CSI resource set or CRS).As shown, a specific CSI resource may correspond to each beam so thateach beam uses a different CSI resource, so that the total group ofbeams uses a specific CRS. For example, a CRS resource set 1012including four resources 1014 a-d may be used for P2, such that adifferent resource is used for each of four beams. In other words, theCRS may not be repeated, e.g., repetition is off. A receiving UE 906 mayuse a single, broad receive (e.g., Rx) beam 1004 during the sweep. Basedon reports provided by the UE 906, the gNB 902 may select a Tx beam1030.

Turning to FIG. 10B, in contrast to P2, a beam management procedureknown as P3 includes a UE, such as UE 906, performing a sweep of Rxbeams 1013 while the gNB 902 transmits a constant Tx beam 1005. The gNB902 may use a single CSI resource set during the sweep 1013, e.g.,repetition may be on. The CRS may include a single resource 1024, ormultiple resources (e.g., in some instances, the CRS used for P3 mayinclude five resources). Based on the measurements (e.g., RSRP) of theTx beam 1005 using the different Rx beams, the UE may select an Rx beam1040.

It will be appreciated that other, e.g., not illustrated herein, beammanagement procedures are known, including at least P1, U1, U2, and U3.P1 may include concurrent sweeps of both the gNB (e.g., Tx beam) and UE(e.g., Rx). U1, U2, and U3 may correspond to the P1, P2, and P3procedures, except that the roles may be reversed, e.g., the UE maytransmit a Tx beam and the gNB may receive with an Rx beam.

In addition to general signal degradation requiring beam managementprocedures, motion of a UE may impact beam quality and/or beamselection. FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an example of effects of motionof a UE on beam selection. For example, as illustrated by FIG. 11A, theUE 906 and the gNB 902 may use a first pair of Tx and Rx beams 1030 and1040, respectively, while the UE 906 is in a first location ororientation. The first pair may result in good channel quality (e.g.,high RSRP) given the communication environment. As shown, the selectedbeams may avoid certain obstacles and may include reflection fromobjects to achieve a communicative path. Turning to FIG. 11B,illustrated is an instance in which the UE 906 may have moved or rotatedand, as a result, the first pair of Tx and Rx beams 1030 and 1040 may nolonger result in good channel quality. The change in the UE 906'sposition or orientation relative to the communication environment maylead to degradation of the channel when using the first pair of Tx andRx beams 1030 and 1040. Thus, based on the motion of the UE, selectionof a new pair of beams may be desirable.

Various observations may be appreciated. The behavior of a base station(e.g., eNB or gNB) may be predictable to a UE. For example, a gNB maytransmit SSB and/or CSI on a known (e.g., periodic) schedule. Changes ina desirable beam (e.g., pair of Tx and Rx beams) may result from changesat the UE, such as movement, rotation, or blockage (e.g., a user's handor body, or other surrounding objects), etc. The UE may thus know betterthan a gNB what actions may be taken to mitigate such changes. Forexample, the UE may use radio measurements and/or other sensors (e.g.,accelerometers, GNSS circuitry) to detect changes that may implicateselection of a new beam pair. The gNB, in contrast, may only be able todetect degradation, and not the factors leading to the degradation.Thus, the UE may be better able to determine the cause of degradationand select an appropriate response. However, as shown, current beammanagement approaches may not support signaling/reporting from a UE toassist beam management procedures (e.g., to initiate P2 vs P3).Accordingly, the gNB 902 may rely on trial and error selection of beammanagement procedures, which may incur costs of power, resources, anddelay. For example, in the case of a UE in rotation as illustrated inFIGS. 11A-B, the gNB 902 may detect RSRP drop (e.g., from a report fromthe UE 906) and may trigger a P2 beam management procedure 1001,although P3 may provide better likelihood of rapidly selecting anappropriate beam pair.

Thus, as popularity of beam forming in the development of 5G NR hasincreased, UE feedback of beam quality has become of increasinginterest. In particular, periodic beam quality reports from the UE havebeen agreed upon for up to a maximum number of signaled beams. However,for a periodic beam reporting scheme, traffic overhead and linkreliability benefits may need to be balanced, including, for example,adjustment of report periodicity and/or measurement periodicity as wellas perhaps channel state information—reference signal (CSI-RS)periodicity. In addition, for an event-based measurement reportingscheme, which has been shown to effectively maintain good mobilityservice for LTE/UMTS, a faster event report and action may be requiredas compared to LTE/UMTS due to the scale of measurement is smaller forbeams.

In particular, in a P3 procedure, the gNB transmits CSI-RS withrepetition factor on and the UE autonomously refines its Rx beam.However, if repetition CSI-RS is transmitted concurrently with downlink(DL) data and if the UE switches to sub-optimal Rx beams, the DL datareception may potentially be impacted. Hence, it may not be desirable totransmit repetition CSI-RS and DL data concurrently unlike P1/P2non-repetition CSI-RS, which can be transmitted concurrently with DLdata without any issue. Additionally, in terms of repetition CSI-RSconfiguration, it may not make sense for gNB to configure the repetitionof CSI-RS periodically. For example, if the periodicity is too short,the periodicity may introduce significant overhead and impact UEthroughput efficiency, particularly when considering that repetitionCSI-RS cannot be concurrent with DL data. As another example, if theperiodicity is too long, the periodicity may cause beam failure andsignificantly impact UE throughput. In short, the gNB cannot determinewhat would be an optimal periodicity. As illustrated above, there can bea static scenario where P3 is not required at all, however, there canalso be other scenarios where UE has to constantly refine its beams.Additionally, gNB initiated aperiodic P3 procedures may introduce otherissues. Information regarding UE beam quality on the gNB side is limited(e.g., UE beam report, UL Rx metrics), thus it is difficult for gNB todefine a trigger condition to trigger P3, but not P2. Further, when P3is triggered by the gNB, it is likely that the UE Rx beam quality isnoticeably worse and thus, it may be too late to trigger a UE beamrefinement procedure (P3) without impact to downlink performance.

Embodiments described herein provide mechanisms to allow a UE, such asUE 106, to request a P3 beam refinement procedure. Such mechanismsbenefit from the UE's global view of downlink (DL) beam quality as wellas the UE's local side information on position and dynamics of UEmovement (e.g., from proximity and motion sensor). Further, suchmechanisms may allow the UE to have additional reasons to request P3even in very good channel conditions (e.g., for power saving purposes,probe different Rx beams with different power consumption) which may noteven relate to a particular event. In some embodiments, a UE may requesta P3 procedure only as necessary which may:

(1) allow efficient utilization of repetition CSI-RS resources andminimize the CSI-RS overhead; and

(2) provide minimal incentive for the UE to abuse P3 procedure requestssince the UE cannot benefit by receiving more physical resources and/orimproved throughput efficiency.

Additionally, once a P3 procedure is properly handled by the UE, a gNB,such as gNB 604/base station 102, may have a clearer view on whether toinitiate a P2 procedure. Thus, based on gNB side information, the gNBmay make an improved decision on when and how often to trigger P2procedures, thereby leading to an improvement in overall systemefficiency.

In some embodiments, a UE, such as UE 106, may transmit (send) a requestfor a P3 procedure to a base station, such as gNB 604 and/or basestation 102. In some embodiments, the request may be similar to ascheduling request. For example, in some embodiments, the request may beincluded as an additional bit in a physical uplink control channel(PUCCH) transmission and/or as an additional bit in a medium accesscontrol (MAC) control element (CE). Note that, given the dynamic natureof such a request, it may be more advantageous to use a PUCCHtransmission to convey the request to base station. In some embodiments,upon receiving the request, the base station may trigger aperiodicrepetition CSI-RS to fulfill the UE's request. However, the base stationmay have final decision on whether or not to honor/respond to the UE'srequest. In such embodiments, a base station may configure:

(1) periodic non-repetition CSI-RS to facilitate standard P2 procedures;

(2) aperiodic non-repetition CSI-RS (triggered by the base station) foremergent P2 as necessary; and/or

(3) aperiodic repetition CSI-RS (triggered by the UE) for P3 asnecessary.

In some embodiments, the network (e.g., a base station such as gNB 604and/or base station 102) may regulate behavior of a UE, such as UE 106,regarding P3 triggering requests. In some embodiments, triggeringrequests and/or triggering conditions may be defined by standard. Insome embodiments, the UE may trigger a P3 request based on a signalquality metric (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), channelquality indicator (CQI), and so forth) dropping below a pre-configured(e.g., standards specified) threshold. In some embodiments, thethreshold may be signaled via RRC layer signaling.

In addition, in some embodiments, a time to trigger may be added to thethreshold, e.g., to reduce overhead. In other words, a time to triggermay be defined such that a UE may only trigger a P3 request if a signalquality metric consistently falls below a threshold for a configuredperiod of time. For example, as illustrated by FIG. 12A, a signalquality metric may be required to remain below a threshold for a periodof time (as shown by metric curve 1202) in order for the UE to trigger aP3 request. In contrast, as shown by metric curve 1204, if the signalquality metric 1204 does not remain below the threshold for the periodof time, then the UE may not trigger a P3 request. In some embodiments,in addition to consideration of a duration of time the metric remainingbelow the threshold, the UE may also consider time rate of change of thesignal quality metric as a triggering condition. For example, if the UEdetermines that the metric has dropped below the threshold and, based ontime rate of change of the metric, determines that the metric iscontinuing to decrease, the UE may trigger a P3 request. Conversely, ifthe UE determines that the metric has dropped below the threshold and,based on time rate of change of the metric, determines that the metricis increasing, the UE may not trigger a P3 request.

In some embodiments, a prohibit timer may be implemented to disallow aUE from triggering P3 requests too rapidly. For example, as illustratedby FIG. 12B, a UE, such as UE 106, may initially transmit a P3 request1210 to a base station, such as gNB 604 and/or base station 102, at atime, to. Additionally, one or more of the UE or base station mayinitiate a timer with an expiration of the timer occurring at time ti.Thus, at a time prior to ti, the UE may attempt to send a P3 request1212 to the base station. However, since the timer has not expired, theUE may suppress the P3 request 1212 and/or the base station may ignoreand/or deny the P3 request 1212. Further, at a time after ti, e.g.,after expiration of the timer, the UE may transmit a P3 request 1214. Inaddition, since the P3 request 1214 is after the expiration of thetimer, the base station may honor the P3 request.

In some embodiments, regardless of signal quality metrics and/orprohibit timers, a UE, such as UE 106, may transmit a P3 request to abase station, such as gNB 604 and/or base station 102, in response to acondition at the UE. For example, if the UE detects a thermal issue(e.g., the UE is overheating), the UE may transmit a P3 request in anattempt to mitigate the thermal issue. As another example, the UE maydetect a power issue (e.g., low battery level and/or rapid power drain)and may transmit a P3 request in an attempt to mitigate the power issue.

In some embodiments, a P3 request may include an indication of apreferred timing offset for aperiodic CSI-RS. Note that 5G NR standardsdefine a timing offset to accommodate delays needed to switch radiofrequency beams. For example, if a beam switch is intra-panel, anassociated switching delay may be relatively short as compared to a beamswitch that is inter-panel, for which an associated switching delay maybe relatively long. Further, if a UE deactivates an antenna panel (e.g.,for power saving purposes), beam switch to the deactivated panel mayincur the longest delay (e.g., between 2 and 3 milliseconds). In someembodiments, the timing offset may be defined as between the aperiodicCSI-RS and measurement report, e.g., to accommodate DCI decoding,processing, and beam switching delay. In some embodiments, the UE mayinform the network of a preferred category of timing offset for anaperiodic CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the preferred categories mayaccount for different use cases, e.g., a first category may beassociated with an intra-panel Rx beam sweep, a second category may beassociated with an inter-panel Rx beam sweep, and/or a third categorymay be associated with an inter-panel Rx beam sweep to a deactivatedpanel.

As noted above, P3 UE CSI-RS monitoring using different Rx beams mayaffect downlink (DL) data reception if scheduled concurrently. In otherwords, there may be resource competition between CSI-RS and PDCCH/PDSCHduring a P3 procedure. In some embodiments, a base station, such as gNB604 and/or base station 102, may avoid scheduling PDCCH and/or PDSCH fora UE, such as UE 106, in a transmit time interval (TTI) in which the UEis scheduled for repetition CSI-RS (e.g., a P3 procedure). In someembodiments, such a scheme may significantly lower UE throughputefficiency, especially if P3 procedures are scheduled frequently.Additionally, when a UE switches to a different Rx beam, it does notnecessarily follow that the UE cannot decode PDCCH and/or PDSCH.

Hence, in some embodiments, since PDCCH carries more critical controlinformation on uplink and downlink, repetition CSI-RS may be schedulednon-concurrent with PDCCH region. In other words, in some embodiments, abase station, such as gNB 604 and/or base station 102, may avoidscheduling PDCCH for a UE, such as UE 106, in a transmit time interval(TTI) in which the UE is scheduled for repetition CSI-RS (e.g., a P3procedure). Thus, in some embodiments, PDSCH may overlap with a P3procedure. Further, in cases of PDSCH CRC failure, HARQ retransmissionsmay be used to recover the failed CBG(s).

In some embodiments, when a P3 procedure (repetition CSI-RS) isscheduled in a TTI with PDSCH (e.g., scheduled concurrently with PDSCH),CSI-RS symbols associated with the P3 procedure may be assigned at theend of the TTI (e.g., time slot). In addition, in some embodiments, thePDSCH may use a partial slot format such that PDCCH, PDSCH, and CSI-RSare time-multiplexed within the time slot. Hence, instead of causing thetime slot to be completely unusable for data transmission, such a schememay minimize the P3 procedure's impact on UE throughput. In addition,such a scheme may allow for P3 procedure scheduling of up to once pertime slot (TTI).

In some embodiments, a UE panel of antennas may be able to generatemultiple Rx beams concurrently (e.g., from a horizontal polarizedantenna group and a vertical polarized antenna group of the panel). Insuch instances, the UE, e.g., such as UE 106, may be able to monitordata and repetition CSI-RS concurrently. Hence, in some embodiments, theUE may report and/or indicate a multi-beam capability to a base station,such as gNB 604 and/or base station 102. In some embodiments, themulti-beam capability may include both generation of two Rx beamsconcurrently from a single panel and/or processing of the two Rx beamsseparately (e.g., all the way down from RF reception to basebandprocessing, for example, one Rx beam for data decoding and one Rx beamfor CSI-RS measurement). In other words, the multi-beam capability mayindicate both the capability of generation of multiple Rx beams and thecapability to process the Rx beams without combining across the Rxbeams. In some embodiments, if such a capability is indicated assupported, the base station may schedule both data and repetition CSI-RSconcurrently for the UE (e.g., within the same TTI). In someembodiments, the base station may only schedule CSI-RS concurrently withPDSCH (e.g., not concurrently with PDCCH) to maintain robustness inreception of PDCCH. In addition, in some embodiments, the base stationmay consider potential MIMO layer reduction during the concurrentscheduling, e.g., since one group of antennas may be occupied for CSI-RSmonitoring.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method for a UEto request a beam quality measurement procedure, according to someembodiments. The method shown in FIG. 13 may be used in conjunction withany of the systems or devices shown in the above Figures, among otherdevices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown maybe performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or may beomitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. Asshown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1302, a request to perform a beam quality measurement procedure fordownlink receptions (e.g., a P3 procedure) may be transmitted from a UE,such as UE 106, to a base station/network entity, such as gNB 604 and/orbase station 102. In some embodiments, transmission of the request maybe response to at least one trigger condition and/or detection of acondition at the UE. In some embodiments, the trigger condition mayinclude any, any combination of, or all of a position of the UE, amovement of the UE, a power condition of the UE, a thermal condition ofthe UE, expiration of a prohibit timer (or timer, e.g., as describedherein) and/or a signal quality issue detected by the UE. In someembodiments, the signal quality issue may be detected by the UE based,at least in part, on a signal quality metric decreasing below athreshold associated with the signal quality metric. In someembodiments, the threshold may include a value associated with thesignal quality metric and a minimum time below the value. In suchembodiments, the signal quality issue may be detected by the UE furtherbased, at least in part, on a signal quality metric decreasing below thethreshold associated with the signal quality metric for the minimumtime. In some embodiments, the threshold may be defined by a standard.In some embodiments, the minimum time may be defined by a standard. Insome embodiments, the signal quality metric may include at least one ofreference signal received power (RSRP) or channel quality indicator(CQI). In some embodiments, the threshold may be signaled to the UE viaradio (RRC) resource control layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the request may be transmitted via one of physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a medium access control(MAC) control element (CE). In some embodiments, the request may beindicated via a bit included in one of the PUCCH transmission or MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the request may include an indication of apreferred timing offset. In some embodiments, the indication of thepreferred timing offset may specify a first timing offset category amonga plurality of timing offset categories. In some embodiments, theplurality of timing offset categories may include any, any combinationof, and/or all of a first category associated with an intra antennapanel receive beam sweep, a second category associated with an interantenna panel receive beam sweep, and/or a third category associatedwith an inter antenna panel receive beam sweep to a deactivated antennapanel of the UE.

At 1304, instructions to perform the beam quality measurement proceduremay be received by the UE from the base station. In some embodiments,the instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure mayinclude a schedule for the beam quality measurement. In someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure is not scheduled concurrently with at least one of physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions or physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) transmissions. In some embodiments, the schedulemay indicate that the beam quality measurement procedure is scheduledconcurrently with physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)transmissions. In such embodiments, symbols associated with the beamquality measurement procedure may be scheduled after the PDSCHtransmissions within a transmit time interval (TTI). In someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions, andphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions aretime-multiplexed within a transmit time interval (TTI).

In some embodiments, the request may include an indication that the UEsupports concurrent reception of multiple beams. In such embodiments,the instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure mayinclude a schedule for the beam quality measurement. Further, in someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure will be performed concurrently with data reception.

At 1306, results of the beam quality measurement procedure may betransmitted from the UE to the base station.

In some embodiments, a timer may be initiated in response totransmitting the request to perform the beam quality measurementprocedure. In such embodiments, the UE may wait until expiration of thetimer to transmit a subsequent request to perform a subsequent beamquality measurement procedure. In some embodiments, the timer may beinitiated by the base station and the base station may ignore anysubsequent request to perform a subsequent beam quality measurementprocedure received from the UE until after expiration of the timer. Insome embodiments, a duration of the timer may be specified by the basestation. In some embodiments, the duration of the timer may be furtherspecified by a standard. In some embodiments, the UE may monitor a valueof a signal quality metric (e.g., as described herein) in relation to athreshold during a duration of the timer. In such embodiments, the UEmay reset the timer prior to expiration if (and/or when) the value ofthe signal quality metric exceeds the threshold.

Further Embodiments

In some embodiments, a UE, such as UE may be configured to perform amethod for requesting a beam management procedure, includingtransmitting, to a base station, such as base station 102, a request toperform a beam quality measurement procedure for downlink receptions,receiving, from the base station, instructions to perform the beamquality measurement procedure, and transmitting, to the base station,results of the beam quality measurement procedure.

In some embodiments, transmitting the request may be responsive to atleast one trigger condition. In some embodiments, the trigger conditionmay be based, at least in part, on at least one of a position of the UE,a movement of the UE, a power condition of the UE, a thermal conditionof the UE, and/or a signal quality issue detected by the UE. In someembodiments, the signal quality issue may be detected by the UE based,at least in part, on a signal quality metric decreasing below athreshold associated with the signal quality metric. In someembodiments, the threshold may be defined by a standard. In someembodiments, the threshold may include a value associated with thesignal quality metric and a minimum time below the value. In someembodiments, the minimum time may be defined by a standard. In someembodiments, the signal quality issue may be detected by the UE furtherbased, at least in part, on a signal quality metric decreasing below thethreshold associated with the signal quality metric for the minimumtime. In some embodiments, the signal quality metric may include atleast one of reference signal received power (RSRP) and/or channelquality indicator (CQI). In some embodiments, the threshold may besignaled to the UE via radio (RRC) resource control layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the method may include the UE initiating a timer inresponse to transmitting the request to perform the beam qualitymeasurement procedure and waiting, until expiration of the timer, totransmit a subsequent request to perform a subsequent beam qualitymeasurement procedure. In some embodiments, a duration of the timer maybe specified by the base station.

In some embodiments, transmitting the request to perform a beam qualitymeasurement procedure may be in response to detection of a condition atthe UE. In some embodiments, the condition may include at least one of athermal condition and/or a power condition.

In some embodiments, the request to perform a beam quality measurementprocedure may be transmitted via one of physical uplink control channel(PUCCH) transmission and/or a medium access control (MAC) controlelement (CE). In some embodiments, the request may be indicated via abit included in one of the PUCCH transmission and/or the MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the request to perform a beam quality measurementprocedure may include an indication of a preferred timing offset. Insome embodiments, the indication of the preferred timing offset mayspecify a first timing offset category among a plurality of timingoffset categories. In some embodiments, the plurality of timing offsetcategories may include one or more of a first category associated withan intra antenna panel receive beam sweep, a second category associatedwith an inter antenna panel receive beam sweep, and/or a third categoryassociated with an inter antenna panel receive beam sweep to adeactivated antenna panel of the UE.

In some embodiments, the instructions to perform the beam qualitymeasurement procedure may include a schedule for the beam qualitymeasurement. In some embodiments, the schedule may indicate that thebeam quality measurement procedure is not scheduled concurrently with atleast one of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissionsand/or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions. In someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure is scheduled concurrently with physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) transmissions. In such embodiments, symbols associatedwith the beam quality measurement procedure may be scheduled after thePDSCH transmissions within a transmit time interval (TTI). In someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions, andphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions aretime-multiplexed within a transmit time interval (TTI).

In some embodiments, the request to perform a beam quality measurementprocedure may include an indication that the UE supports concurrentreception of multiple beams. In some embodiments, the instructions toperform the beam quality measurement procedure may include a schedulefor the beam quality measurement. In such embodiments, the schedule mayindicate that the beam quality measurement procedure will be performedconcurrently with data reception.

In some embodiments, a network entity, such as base station 102 and orgNB 604, may perform a method to aid a UE, such UE 106, in requesting abeam management procedure, including receiving, from a UE, a request toperform a beam quality measurement procedure for downlink receptions,transmitting, to the UE, instructions to perform the beam qualitymeasurement procedure, and receiving, from the UE, results of the beamquality measurement procedure.

In some embodiments, transmitting the request may be responsive to atleast one trigger condition. In some embodiments, the trigger conditionmay be based on at least one of a position of the UE, a movement of theUE, a power condition of the UE, a thermal condition of the UE, and/or asignal quality issue detected by the UE. In some embodiments, the signalquality issue may be detected by the UE based, at least in part, on asignal quality metric decreasing below a threshold associated with thesignal quality metric. In some embodiments, the threshold may be definedby a standard. In some embodiments, the threshold may include a valueassociated with the signal quality metric and a minimum time below thevalue. In some embodiments, the minimum time may be defined by astandard. In some embodiments, the signal quality issue may be detectedby the UE further based, at least in part, on a signal quality metricdecreasing below the threshold associated with the signal quality metricfor the minimum time. In some embodiments, the signal quality metric mayinclude at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP) and/orchannel quality indicator (CQI). In some embodiments, the threshold maybe signaled to the UE via radio (RRC) resource control layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the method may further include the network entityinitiating a timer in response to receiving the request to perform thebeam quality measurement procedure, receiving, prior to expiration ofthe timer, a subsequent request to perform a subsequent beam qualitymeasurement procedure, and ignoring the subsequent request. In someembodiments, a duration of the timer may be specified by the networkentity.

In some embodiments, receiving the request to perform a beam qualitymeasurement procedure may be in response to detection of a condition atthe UE. In some embodiments, the condition may include at least one of athermal condition and/or a power condition.

In some embodiments, the request may be received via one of physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a medium access control(MAC) control element (CE). In some embodiments, the request may beindicated via a bit included in one of the PUCCH transmission and/or MACCE.

In some embodiments, the request may include an indication of apreferred timing offset. In some embodiments, the indication of thepreferred timing offset may specify a first timing offset category amonga plurality of timing offset categories. In some embodiments, theplurality of timing offset categories may include one or more of a firstcategory associated with an intra antenna panel receive beam sweep, asecond category associated with an inter antenna panel receive beamsweep, and/or a third category associated with an inter antenna panelreceive beam sweep to a deactivated antenna panel of the UE.

In some embodiments, the instructions to perform the beam qualitymeasurement procedure may include a schedule for the beam qualitymeasurement. In some embodiments, the schedule may indicate that thebeam quality measurement procedure is not scheduled concurrently with atleast one of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissionsand/or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions. In suchembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure is scheduled concurrently with physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) transmissions and symbols associated with the beamquality measurement procedure may be scheduled after the PDSCHtransmissions within a transmit time interval (TTI). In someembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions, andphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions aretime-multiplexed within a transmit time interval (TTI).

In some embodiments, the request may include an indication that the UEsupports concurrent reception of multiple beams. In some embodiments,the instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure mayinclude a schedule for the beam quality measurement. In suchembodiments, the schedule may indicate that the beam quality measurementprocedure will be performed concurrently with data reception.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as acomputer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or acomputer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or morecustom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodimentsmay be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory mediummay be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data,where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, causethe computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE 106) may be configured toinclude a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherethe memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor isconfigured to read and execute the program instructions from the memorymedium, where the program instructions are executable to implement anyof the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combinationof the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of themethod embodiments described herein, or, any combination of suchsubsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment device (UE), comprising: atleast one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least oneantenna; and a processing element coupled to the at least one radio;wherein the processing element is configured to cause the UE to:transmit, to a base station, a request to perform a beam qualitymeasurement procedure for downlink receptions; receive, from the basestation, instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure;and transmit, to the base station, results of the beam qualitymeasurement procedure.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein transmitting therequest is responsive to at least one trigger condition, wherein thetrigger condition is based, at least in part, on at least one of: aposition of the UE; a movement of the UE; a power condition of the UE; athermal condition of the UE; or a signal quality issue detected by theUE.
 3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the signal quality issue is detectedby the UE based, at least in part, on a signal quality metric decreasingbelow a threshold associated with the signal quality metric, wherein thethreshold comprises a value associated with the signal quality metricand a minimum time below the value.
 4. The UE of claim 3, wherein thesignal quality issue is detected by the UE further based, at least inpart, on a signal quality metric decreasing below the thresholdassociated with the signal quality metric for the minimum time.
 5. TheUE of claim 1, wherein the processing element is further configured tocause the UE to: initiate a timer in response to transmitting therequest to perform the beam quality measurement procedure; and wait,until expiration of the timer, to transmit a subsequent request toperform a subsequent beam quality measurement procedure.
 6. The UE ofclaim 5, wherein, during a duration of the timer, the processing elementis further configured to cause the UE to; monitor a value at least onesignal quality metric in relation to a threshold; and reset the timerprior to expiration upon detection of the value increasing above thethreshold.
 7. The UE of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request toperform a beam quality measurement procedure is in response to detectionof a condition at the UE, wherein the condition comprises at least oneof a thermal condition, a power condition, or expiration of a prohibittimer.
 8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the request is transmitted via oneof physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission or a mediumaccess control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the request isindicated via a bit included in one of the PUCCH transmission or MAC CE.9. The UE of claim 1, wherein the request includes an indication of apreferred timing offset, and wherein the indication of the preferredtiming offset specifies a first timing offset category among a pluralityof timing offset categories.
 10. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; andat least one processor in communication with the memory, wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: generate instructions to transmit,to a base station, a request to perform a beam quality measurementprocedure for downlink receptions, wherein the transmitting the requestis responsive to at least one trigger condition; receive, from the basestation, instructions to perform the beam quality measurement procedure;and generate instructions to transmit, to the base station, results ofthe beam quality measurement procedure.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the request includes an indication of a preferred timing offsetthat specifies a first timing offset category among a plurality oftiming offset categories, and wherein the plurality of timing offsetcategories comprises one or more of: a first category associated with anintra antenna panel receive beam sweep; a second category associatedwith an inter antenna panel receive beam sweep; or a third categoryassociated with an inter antenna panel receive beam sweep to adeactivated antenna panel of the UE.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the instructions to perform the beam quality measurementprocedure includes a schedule for the beam quality measurement.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the schedule indicates: that the beamquality measurement procedure is not scheduled concurrently with atleast one of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions orphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions; that the beamquality measurement procedure is scheduled concurrently with physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, wherein symbolsassociated with the beam quality measurement procedure are scheduledafter the PDSCH transmissions within a transmit time interval (TTI); orthat the beam quality measurement procedure, physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) transmissions, and physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) transmissions are time-multiplexed within a transmit timeinterval (TTI).
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the requestincludes an indication that concurrent reception of multiple beams issupported.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions toperform the beam quality measurement procedure include a schedule forthe beam quality measurement, wherein the schedule indicates that thebeam quality measurement procedure will be performed concurrently withdata reception.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable memory mediumcomprising program instructions that, when executed, cause a userequipment device (UE) to: transmit, to a base station, a request toperform a beam quality measurement procedure for downlink receptions;receive, from the base station, instructions to perform the beam qualitymeasurement procedure, wherein the instructions to perform the beamquality measurement procedure includes a schedule for the beam qualitymeasurement; and transmit, to the base station, results of the beamquality measurement procedure.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablememory medium of claim 16, wherein transmitting the request isresponsive to at least one trigger condition, wherein the triggercondition is based, at least in part, on at least one of: a position ofthe UE; a movement of the UE; a power condition of the UE; a thermalcondition of the UE; or a signal quality issue detected by the UE. 18.The non-transitory computer readable memory medium of claim 16, whereinthe program instructions are further executable to cause the UE to:initiate a timer in response to transmitting the request to perform thebeam quality measurement procedure, wherein a duration of the timer isspecified by the base station; and wait, until expiration of the timer,to transmit a subsequent request to perform a subsequent beam qualitymeasurement procedure.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable memorymedium of claim 16, wherein the request includes an indication of apreferred timing offset, and wherein the indication of the preferredtiming offset specifies a first timing offset category among a pluralityof timing offset categories.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablememory medium of claim 16, wherein the schedule indicates: that the beamquality measurement procedure is not scheduled concurrently with atleast one of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions orphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions; that the beamquality measurement procedure is scheduled concurrently with physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, wherein symbolsassociated with the beam quality measurement procedure are scheduledafter the PDSCH transmissions within a transmit time interval (TTI); orthat the beam quality measurement procedure, physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) transmissions, and physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) transmissions are time-multiplexed within a transmit timeinterval (TTI).